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Gestural abstraction

The phrase gestural abstraction refers to a way of making art - not what necessarily gets painted, but how it does.  By abandoning the application of paint to a surface in a controlled and premeditated way, gestural painters apply paint intuitively, physically, by dripping, splattering, pouring, smearing or throwing it at the surface itself. What matters to the gestural abstraction painters then isn't the paint but the physicality, honesty, intuition and deep personal expression. This in turn leads to the artist abandoning a focus on subject matter, turning inward for inspiration. As such, the act of painting itself becomes the subject. Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner and Franz Kline led this movement from the 1940s onwards, with Jackson Pollock undoubtedly being the most notable with his pierced paint tins, dripping across the surface of Number 1A, 1948 (1948).  Abstract gestural painters explore their deepest emotions and they express that part of themselves during the physical act of painting. Pollock would later note that he had no fears about making changes to a painting, because, he said, the work has a life of its own. The painting itself is a relic of the action, it is a recording of the gestures made. Still influencing artists today, the likes of Caroline Vis and Sebastien Desnos (s3b desnos) both reference Pollock in their work, either echoing the expression of emotion or indeed as Desnos puts it, “action painting."

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Painting, La pianiste, Âme Sauvage

Âme Sauvage

Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch

$489

Fine Art Drawings, Sunset and Rain, Gaëlle Wagner

Gaëlle Wagner

Fine Art Drawings - 29.7 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0 inch

$214

Painting, Abstract 2554, Alex Senchenko

Alex Senchenko

Painting - 100 x 30 x 1.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 11.8 x 0.6 inch

$766 $613

Painting, Prophecy, Nikolaos Schizas

Nikolaos Schizas

Painting - 116 x 89 x 0.1 cm Painting - 45.7 x 35 x 0 inch

$4,179

Painting, Worries, Nikolaos Schizas

Nikolaos Schizas

Painting - 130 x 97 x 5 cm Painting - 51.2 x 38.2 x 2 inch

$7,452

Painting, Abstract 2532, Alex Senchenko

Alex Senchenko

Painting - 150 x 100 x 1.5 cm Painting - 59.1 x 39.4 x 0.6 inch

$2,647 $2,117

Painting, Abstract 2531, Alex Senchenko

Alex Senchenko

Painting - 122 x 91 x 2 cm Painting - 48 x 35.8 x 0.8 inch

$2,368 $1,894

Painting, Abstract 2525, Alex Senchenko

Alex Senchenko

Painting - 150 x 100 x 1.5 cm Painting - 59.1 x 39.4 x 0.6 inch

$2,716 $2,173

Painting, Abstract 2509, Alex Senchenko

Alex Senchenko

Painting - 150 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 59.1 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch

$2,647 $2,117

Painting, Emerge, Gaëlle Wagner

Gaëlle Wagner

Painting - 120 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

$3,181

Painting, Botany by M.Y., Max Yaskin

Max Yaskin

Painting - 150 x 90 x 1 cm Painting - 59.1 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch

$1,701 $1,531

Painting, Rem, Nikolaos Schizas

Rem

Nikolaos Schizas

Painting - 146 x 114 x 1 cm Painting - 57.5 x 44.9 x 0.4 inch

$5,641

Painting, Memento, Nikolaos Schizas

Nikolaos Schizas

Painting - 120 x 100 x 1 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 0.4 inch

$5,293

Painting, Blessings, Nikolaos Schizas

Nikolaos Schizas

Painting - 100 x 80 x 0.1 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0 inch

$3,204

Painting, Timeless, Nikolaos Schizas

Nikolaos Schizas

Painting - 100 x 80 x 0.1 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0 inch

$3,204

Painting, All I got, Nikolaos Schizas

Nikolaos Schizas

Painting - 130 x 100 x 1 cm Painting - 51.2 x 39.4 x 0.4 inch

$6,198

Painting, Esa Noche, Nikolaos Schizas

Nikolaos Schizas

Painting - 146 x 114 x 0.1 cm Painting - 57.5 x 44.9 x 0 inch

$5,641

Painting, Abstract 2467, Alex Senchenko

Alex Senchenko

Painting - 150 x 100 x 1.5 cm Painting - 59.1 x 39.4 x 0.6 inch

$2,647 $2,117

Painting, Abstract 1186, Alex Senchenko

Alex Senchenko

Painting - 120 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch

$2,368 $1,894

Painting, Mum, Gaëlle Wagner

Mum

Gaëlle Wagner

Painting - 165 x 130 x 3 cm Painting - 65 x 51.2 x 1.2 inch

$4,282

Painting, Abstract 2523, Alex Senchenko

Alex Senchenko

Painting - 150 x 100 x 15 cm Painting - 59.1 x 39.4 x 5.9 inch

$2,647 $2,117

Painting, Abstract 2512, Alex Senchenko

Alex Senchenko

Painting - 150 x 100 x 1.5 cm Painting - 59.1 x 39.4 x 0.6 inch

$2,647 $2,117

Painting, Abstract 2510, Alex Senchenko

Alex Senchenko

Painting - 120 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch

$2,368 $1,894

Painting, Diagram, Laura Newman

Laura Newman

Painting - 76.2 x 55.9 cm Painting - 30 x 22 inch

$3,761

Painting, Frames, Laura Newman

Laura Newman

Painting - 56 x 38 cm Painting - 22 x 15 inch

$3,482

Painting, L'arbre vert, Âme Sauvage

Âme Sauvage

Painting - 46 x 38 x 2.4 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 0.9 inch

$367

Painting, Landscape 3, Gina Vor

Gina Vor

Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

$979